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As is tradition when we near the end of any year, now is an ideal time to reflect on a few of the key trends we’ve seen in the cybersecurity industry throughout 2022 and how that sets the scene for the landscape as we head into 2023.
Although it’s been two years since the covid-19 pandemic began and life feels somewhat back to normal (whatever that now looks like to you), we’re still feeling the effects in terms of cyber. Couple that with an ever growing popularity of IoT/smart devices – the worldwide number of which Gartner predicts will increase to 43 billion by next year – as well as a population’s dependency on the Internet, and the attack surface only increases.
A large proportion of the workforce will now be very familiar with either a work-from-home or hybrid work model, with reduced commutes and fewer days in the office, but how many of us consider the impact that has on the cybersecurity posture of the business we work for or the increased risk our personal data and privacy could be facing?
The last few years of changes in the working environment will have put a real strain on IT and security teams, who not only have to ensure the corporate network is secure, data is handled correctly, and business devices all have the latest updates and patches, but also that employees are applying the same caution to their own devices, home networks or where they are connecting in from, e.g., their local coffee shop. As a result, there’s been increased demand in cybersecurity solutions that offer support with network security and identity and access management, as well as cybersecurity training for employees covering things like phishing and cybersecurity best practices, including strong passwords and the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Internet of Things (IoT) have seen exponential adoption in recent years. The majority are those used for entertainment such as smart TVs and Bluetooth speakers, followed by smart speakers that provide us with information like the weather forecast or news highlights in response to our voice commands. However, they are also starting to encroach on business settings for use in smart buildings, supply chain management and traffic management, to name a few examples.
The addition of any new devices or technology onto a network can’t come without its risks, as highlighted by the IoT Security Foundation which says that everyday vulnerabilities are being used for malicious intent.
It’s vital businesses know exactly what assets sit on their network, what’s connecting to what, and what the security implications of those connections could be. As such, cybersecurity vendors offering network visibility, asset management tools and pen testing services, are being called on to help.
Last but by no means least, a trend we would like to but simply cannot ignore when looking back on the year is ransomware.
Although the threat of ransomware is not new, the tactic has been one heavily favoured by cybercriminals this year, with attacks on critical infrastructure industries such as healthcare and energy, as well as other big corporates including technology and security companies, making news headlines most weeks.
According to Verizon, ransomware attacks increased by 13% this year compared to 2021 and Reliaquest says this trend is not going to slow down as we move into 2023.
With a new year usually comes a refreshed perspective, new goals in the form of new year’s resolutions, and often hope that this year will be a good year. No doubt security teams will be hoping for just that but if any of the trends from this year tell us anything, it’s that cyber crime will not be going anywhere, and with new threats constantly coming to the fore, businesses are going to need all the cybersecurity support they can get.
If you’re a cybersecurity company with a solution that can solve any of the trends discussed in this blog but need help in getting your name out there, don’t hesitate to contact our team of expert PR consultants, we’d be happy to chat.
